For the UL football team, spring is done, summer workouts await and the quarterback battle among Brooks Haack, Jalen Nixon and Jordan Davis continues.

Ragin’ Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth ideally wanted to have had his starter picked by the time spring drills ended Tuesday, so the winner could lead his offense into an offseason in which hands-on contact with coaches is reduced.

But he did not.

Instead, Hudspeth said after Saturday’s spring game at Cajun Field and again after Tuesday’s final spring practice that he doesn’t know when he’ll decide — and suggested the fight could very well drag on into preseason camp.

Hudspeth has suggested a decision must be made not only on which quarterback UL’s offense should be tailored to in playbook regard, but also whether it’s best to rely on Haack’s and Nixon’s relative experience or to expedite Davis’ development and see if he can ready sooner rather than later.

With that in mind, post-spring game thoughts follow from contenders Haack, UL’s primary backup to starter Terrance Broadway the last two seasons and a redshirt-junior-to-be from Katy, Texas; redshirt-junior-to-be Nixon, a Carencro High product who played a big reserve role in UL’s 2013 New Orleans Bowl win over Tulane; and Davis, a redshirt freshman from Klein Oak High in Texas who has yet to play his first college game:

BROOKS HAACK

Haack feels progress was made the past month.

“As a unit,” he said, “I feel like we’ve taken great strides this spring — especially from that first day. So, I’m really excited. I’m really looking forward to the fall.”

Haack initially appeared a bit disappointed to learn Hudspeth would defer the decision.

The strong-armed Texan does seem to feel he made the best case he could for being UL’s No. 1.

“I think I’ve managed it really well,” Haack said of the Cajun offense, “and I’ve picked up a lot of things faster.

“I think that’s what I really need, is being able to see and read things a lot quicker — and I feel like I’ve gained that.

“That came from a lot of video study,” he added, “and Coach Johnson (Jay Johnson, UL’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) and us talking a lot.”

Between now and when preseason camp opens in early August, Haack said he wants to “just shore up some things, keep managing the game, keep leading, and just keep getting those guys around me to keep working better and getting better.”

“So,” he said, “I think that’s what I’ve got to keep doing … and I think good things will happen.”

JALEN NIXON

Although Haack seemed to work with UL’s starters the most all spring, the strong-running Nixon remains in the running.

He plans to keep on keeping on.

“It means continuing to do the same things I’ve been doing, which is grind hard, make sure my teammates are OK and compete every day,” Nixon said. “You know, that’s a part of playing football and being a ballplayer over here also.

“I’m pretty sure — as the other quarterbacks — we all just want to be happy, and whatever the best decision is for the team, may that decision to be made.”

Nixon sees no reason Hudspeth should feel compelled to hurry his call.

“We just want to make sure we take our time in this process,” he said, “because this is a very important process, for somebody to take the job.”

Nixon has no expectations whatsoever as to how things may unfold between now and Sept. 5, when UL opens its 2015 season at Kentucky.

All he knows for sure is Hudspeth has said publicly that the starting job is open, and until he hears otherwise he has no reason to believe it’s not.

“You never can expect anything, because you never know what can happen,” Nixon said. “But, being that the situation happened the way it did, I’m glad it did.

“That gives us more time to develop and learn before the season comes, and when the season comes we’ll have that decision made.”

As Nixon sees it, not much is different now than if a winner had been declared.

“Even if the competition was closed, we’re still gonna compete every day — regardless of what it is,” he said. “So, the competition is gonna be there.

“Like I said (at the start of spring), ‘We love each other like brothers. At the end of the day, we all want to see what’s best for each other.’ But, competing is the main thing is we want to do.”

JORDAN DAVIS

Davis is all about the competition too. And for the Texan to continue to be in the thick of it, he must continue to progress.

Davis feels he did just that during UL’s 15 spring practices, and he suggested the biggest step he took last month boils down to improved confidence in the pocket.

“I really excelled in just being back there, being poised, being able to grasp the offense and to build a chemistry with my teammates,” Davis said. “That’s been the biggest thing I’ve done … and been on focused on this spring.”

The next step?

Much film-room work.

“My focus,” Davis said, “is just getting better — getting better for myself, getting better for the team and just doing whatever I can to excel my game to the next level.”

Should he be awarded the No. 1 tag beginning in 2015, Davis would have the potential to be a four-year starter.

For now, at least based on Hudspeth’s public comments, that remains possible.

“I’m really excited about that,” Davis said.

“I’m happy I’m gonna get another opportunity to be able to showcase myself, and whenever fall camp comes around I’ll be able to have another part of my game be brought to the practices.

“You know,” he added, “whenever we go into summer session, we’re gonna we working out, working really hard, getting better myself and within the team.

If there truly is open competition in August — Haack’s extensive spring time with the starters notwithstanding — Davis is all for it.

“That’s what I love. I love competition,” he said. “I mean, if you’re not playing a sport for the competition, I don’t know what you’re playing it for.”